(Headline USA) Vice President Kamala Harris said she would “proudly” run on President Joe Biden’s ticket if he decides to seek reelection in 2024.
“The president has been very clear that he intends to run again,” Harris told NBC News this weekend. “And if he does, I will be running with him proudly.”
Questions about whether Biden will seek another term have been raised as his mental and physical health visibly decline. The White House has dismissed rumors about his health and insisted that he will launch another presidential campaign in 2024, but a number of Democrats have expressed doubt with this plan.
“Off the record, he’s not running again,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., told the New York Times last month.
Even if Biden does run again, it’s unclear whether he would win over his party’s support. A number of Left-leaning Democrats have refused to say whether they would endorse him again in 2024.
For example, Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., one of the top party leaders, said it was “too early to say” whether he’d back Biden again.
Several Democrats have flat-out said they won’t support Biden again.
“I would say we need new leaders in Washington up and down the ballot in the Democratic Party,” Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., said.
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., agreed with Craig when asked if Biden should run again: “I have respect for Joe Biden. I think he has, despite some mistakes and missteps, despite his age, I think he’s a man of decency, of good principle, of compassion, of empathy, and of strength. But to answer your question directly, which I know is quite rare, no, I don’t.
“I think the country would be well-served by a new generation of compelling, well-prepared, dynamic Democrats who step up.”
Former Obama adviser David Axelrod admitted a key concern about a potential Biden reelection campaign would be the president’s age.
“The presidency is a monstrously taxing job, and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue,” Axelrod said.
